Reckless Paradise [a descendants story]

Chapter Seventeen | The Return

Jax, Saoirse, Jukes, Cyrus, and Quinn sat around the table in Jax's cabin and Quinn recounted how she got to the Isle in as much detail as she could. When she had finished, they all sat in silence for a few moments and she could not help but remember Mark's warning: getting back will be a lot harder.

"Well, getting into the harbour area will be much harder now; Maleficent has upped security since..." Jukes trailed off, but Harper's name echoed in the silence. "But she doesn't know about our secret entrance."

"Yet," Cyrus amended. "We should do this as quickly as we can because it's bound to be discovered sooner or later."

Jax nodded. "You can use the tunnel, we can cause a distraction. How you get on the ship will be on you."

"This Mark fellow," Saoirse said. "He will be able to help you from the other side?"

"Only if we get a message to him somehow, then he could cause a distraction on his end," Quinn agreed.

"What about that kid who caused a power outage in Auradon City for half an hour?" Cyrus asked. "He might have the tech."

"The de Vil kid?" Jukes said. "He'd probably be able to send a message, but I don't think he would do it or keep his mouth shut about it."

"Carlos de Vil?" Quinn asked and they nodded. "He might for me." They all looked at her in surprise and she shrugged. "He owes me a favour."

"You want me to send this message to this cell number in Auradon?" Carlos asked. "And not tell anyone?"

Quinn and Jax nodded. They sat in the back of Jafar's Bargain Shop, where Carlos had a box of electronic trinkets, which he fiddled with as they discussed the plan.

"Do you know how many people would love to send messages to Auradon? How much money I could make if they knew I could do it?"

"We're not saying you can't tell anyone you can send messages, just not about this specific message," Quinn insisted.

Carlos regarded them both, considering it for only a moment before nodding. "Alright, you've got yourself a deal."

And so it was sent out: "I'm coming back. Next Saturday. Need a distraction. Down with John."

"Down with John?" Jax asked.

"So he knows it's me," Quinn said. "It's a thing the Merry Men used to say."

Time moved more quickly than Quinn wanted. In the flurry of preparation, she managed to pull Cai aside and tell him everything she could remember from her first aid classes. In the weeks he had spent by her side caring for the sick, he had kind of become her protégé.

The kids were on their way toward recovery, and their quarantining had meant no one had fallen ill since Corinna. She was also doing much better and although they told her it was not her fault that harper died, Quinn could tell she felt guilty about it. No one in any other gang had died of whooping cough that they knew of, so there was hope that this year's cases were not as serious.

She and Jukes got a drink the day before, sitting at a table in the back rather than their normal spot at the bar so they would not be overheard.

"What do you think you'll miss the most about this place?" Jukes asked.

Quinn thought for a moment, then grinned. "Being able to drink, obviously." She held up her beer. "I'll have to wait another year to be allowed in Auradon."

"Damn," Jukes said, clinking their bottle with Quinn's. "It'll be rough."

Quinn smiled. "But seriously, I'll miss the people: the whole Crew, you, Nia, Nabil, Hugo, Clove –"